{"id":53783,"date":"2021-01-12T09:00:37","date_gmt":"2021-01-12T09:00:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/?p=53783"},"modified":"2021-01-12T09:00:37","modified_gmt":"2021-01-12T09:00:37","slug":"former-rapidshare-operators-lawyer-acquitted-of-copyright-infringement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/?p=53783","title":{"rendered":"Former RapidShare Operators & Lawyer Acquitted of Copyright Infringement"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"RapidShare\"<\/a>In 2002, when Megaupload was a mere twinkle in the eye of Kim Dotcom, Swiss-based file-hosting site was already on its way to becoming an Internet giant.<\/p>\n

The platform provided a simple way to store and share files with others and as a result, soon became popular with people looking to distribute copyright-infringing content. This attracted the negative attention of numerous copyright holders.<\/p>\n

As an Internet services platform, RapidShare always insisted that it was not in control over the material being uploaded by its users, an assertion that sometimes had courts in agreement<\/a>. Nevertheless, RapidShare continued to draw the ire of copyright holder groups and eventually found itself labeled by the USTR as a \u201cnotorious market\u201d. <\/p>\n

As pressure built, RapidShare made efforts to restrict<\/a> the ability of users to share infringing content but this change of model took its toll on the site. Visitor numbers quickly decreased as customers chose to frequent more liberal platforms. In March 2015, the file-hoster decided to close its doors<\/a> leaving dozens of former employees without jobs.<\/p>\n

Criminal Lawsuit Filed in Switzerland<\/h2>\n

More than three years after the site shut itself down, it became clear that RapidShare\u2019s operators were still facing an uncertain future. The service\u2019s founder, Christian Schmid, his wife Alexandra, and one of their former lawyers, were put on trial<\/a> in a criminal court. The public prosecutor of the court in Zug accused the trio of assisting in mass copyright infringement, demanding financial penalties on behalf of copyright holders.<\/p>\n

Given the huge profits made by RapidShare (in 2009 alone, RapidShare\u2019s gross dividend was almost $53m at today\u2019s rates), the prosecutor argued that the enterprise benefited at the expense of content companies. The site\u2019s operators were in a position to stop infringement but chose not to do so, placing revenue above everything else. As a result, the site\u2019s founder alone should pay more than 700,000 Swiss francs, it was argued.<\/p>\n

Zug Court: RapidShare Defendants Found Not Guilty<\/h2>\n

The Swiss court certainly took its time in issuing its judgment but after a two-and-a-half-year wait, the verdict is now in. The full judgment is not yet available to the public but a summary from Tagblatt<\/a> reveals that Christian and Alexandra Schmid (now 40 and 42) and their former lawyer have all been found not guilty.<\/p>\n

Zurich lawyer Andreas Meili, who defended Alexandra Schimd in the case, described the result as a \u201cgreat satisfaction\u201d but expressed concern at the expenses incurred by his client when defending the case.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you are acquitted, you are entitled to compensation, not the other way around,\u201d he told Tablatt.<\/p>\n

Whether there will be an opportunity to address the issue of costs is currently unclear but in any event, the matter may not be over just yet. The public prosecutor and copyright holders may not accept the judgment of the Zug court and could take the case to appeal. <\/p>\n

In any event, the trial doesn\u2019t seem to be having a huge effect on the living standards of the Schmids. In 2019 the couple paid the Thurgau bankruptcy office around 36 million Swiss francs ($40.5 million) to acquire Eugensberg Castle<\/a>. The 18th-century castle was previously owned by entrepreneur and convicted fraudster Rolf Erb and sports eleven bedrooms and five bathrooms.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

<\/center><\/p>\n

From: TF<\/a>, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.<\/p>\n

Powered by WPeMatico<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In 2002, when Megaupload was a mere twinkle in the eye of Kim Dotcom, Swiss-based file-hosting site was already on its way to becoming an Internet giant. The platform provided a simple way to store and share files with others and as a result, soon became popular with people looking to distribute copyright-infringing content. This […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53784,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[308],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-53783","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-torrent"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53783","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=53783"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53783\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/53784"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=53783"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=53783"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cryptocabaret.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=53783"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}